The ones I listen to... #5

I’m a passionate fan of modern instrumental music since early childhood, but back then, I was getting familiar with it mostly in indirect ways. My parents and grandparents didn’t have much instrumental music in their collections, so I have heard certain pieces on TV for the first time, often in the background of some documentary or other program. Looking back, I can’t stop wondering about how I knew and loved music by some of my favorite artists, long before even knowing their names. There weren’t many connoisseurs of modern instrumental music in my vicinity. As a child from the mid-eighties, I couldn’t just “Google it”. My first excursion on the Internet won’t happen until 1998.

Similarly, I encountered music by the Japanese artist by the name Masanori Takahashi, better known as Kitaro. His most known music piece is the main theme from the Japanese documentary “Silk Road”, which was made in the early 1980s. The theme itself is one of the most recognized and, in my opinion, most beautiful tunes in the world of new age music. It’s one of those tunes that will be instantly familiar as soon as you hear it, even though you don’t know from where exactly.

Even though I heard some of his music back in my childhood, I “officially” found out about Kitaro during my years at university. A colleague of mine lent me a compilation of instrumental music, which also featured the theme from “Silk Road”. After this, with much difficulty, I managed to find the first CD from the “Silk Road” series in a local music store. Since then, I’m a big Kitaro fan. Nowadays, I have most of his albums in my collection.

When thinking about Kitaro’s work, I always think about naive paintings. Motives from nature with big fluffy clouds on blue skies and the feeling of eternal spring. Kitaro is a deeply spiritual person with an inseparable bond with nature and peace, which is highly evident in his music. One of the reasons why I grew to like his work so much is the degree of similarity to my favorite, Vangelis. Both are natural-born self-taught talents, they express themselves primarily through instrumental music, they cater to simple and recognizable melodies and themes, and they also use synthesizers and other technology. These two artists are the best proof that synthesizers can be highly expressive and emotive instruments, much like their acoustic counterparts.

Although technology isn’t a motive but rather the means for Kitaro, his sound has been changing through the years, along with its development. His early works are based on the combination of analog synthesizers and acoustic and electric musical instruments. The key element of Kitaro’s recognizable solo sound is a Mini Moog synthesizer, highly processed through various effects. The accompanying instruments include numerous percussion instruments and drums, plus acoustic and other guitars, along with plenty of folk instruments from Japan and Asia in general. Starting in the late 1980s, Kitaro embraced digital synthesizers, which led to a more “symphonic” sound in his later releases. On some of these, you can also hear a sobbing, sometimes even crying electric guitar as an additional element. This often deviates from Kitaro’s earlier aesthetics, but it certainly brings another dose of drama.

Kitaro is a highly prolific author with almost thirty studio albums released to date. There are plenty of compilations out there, often called “Greatest Hits” and “The Best Of”, that mostly contain his earlier pieces. To those still relatively new to this author, I would certainly recommend the whole “Silk Road” series (I-IV), as well as the solo albums “Oasis”, “Kojiki”, and “Mandala”. His newer series, “The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai,” is also worth exploring. This includes five albums made between 2004. and 2017. These have a more modern sound in comparison to his earlier works, but with all the “magic ingredients”.

Kitaro was nominated many times for a Grammy in the category of “Best New Age Album” and won the award for 1999. album, “Thinking of You”. Awards and official recognition were never a reason why I love certain music, though. I believe that most authors feel the same from their perspective.

Kitaro’s last studio album came out back in 2017. and has announced his “retirement”, at least from regular releases and big tours. However, his legacy will forever remain an oasis of peace, tranquility, and beauty for everyone trying to find it in these times full of worries and uncertainties.